Jennin

heir wake. Chase stood by the window, his back to me, smoking a cigarette-a habit he

My mind was a chaotic storm, replaying every detail of the afternoo

years with brutal clarity. It was all a

a crystal ashtray. He turned, his face a

exhausted I was from a shoot, if Chase was home, I cooked. It wa

head and looked at

. "Did you

s, the thick white gauze a stark

this?" My voice was devoid of em

d, as if he'd genuinely forgotten. He waved h

table, the food from his favorite steakhouse untouched on

empty wine glass a few inches in my direc

not even looking

gone to the temperature-controlled wine cellar,

, I did

e looked up, his brow furr

he word was quiet, but it landed in the

I had ever denied hi

ght the afternoon's humiliation would have

ring the only explanation I wa

le, but the defiance beh

d crack that made me flinch. He leaned forward, his eyes boring into

ach for years was gone, replaced by a vast, empty wast

laugh. He pushed his chair back violently and stalked over to the wine cellar himself,

ceiling. Sleep was impossible. Around two in the

ked past our bedroom door. He stopped just outsid

cold hardwood floor. I crept to the door and li

d never heard him use with me. It was gentle. Pat

a tantrum. It'll pass in a day or two... I k